Screw or like article.



I. A. COSTUMA.

SCREW 0R LiKE ARTICLE.

APPLICATION HLED 0120.21. 1916.

1,296,1 5. Patented Mar. 4,1919.

A T TOR/V15 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' JACOBA. COSTUMA, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

' SCREW on LIKE ARTICLE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J Acoe A. Cos'rUMA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county,

and State of New York','have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Screws or Like Articles, of which the followlng 1s a specification.

This inventlon relates to screws, nails,

bolts, and the like, and-particularly tomeans whereby such articles may be securely locked in place insucha-manner thatany attempt to loosen or remove them will be detected easily.

- For thepurpose, I'provide a construction readily molded by which a body of suitable,

may be material, such as wax or solder,

formed in contact withsuch screw or other article and with the socket of the plate or other part into which such article extends,

such body ofreadily molded material havinga portion which forms a key to prevent unde- 1 tected removal of said'body and of said article, as will be more fully set forth herein after.

' My invention may be carried out in many forms, three examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 being a longitudinal section of a plate with a screw fitted into it, embodylng my invention; Fig:

2 is a perspective view of such screw; Fig. 3 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. l; and Figs. 4 and 5 are views corresponding to Fig. 1, and showing two other forms of my invention.

The screw has a threaded shank A and a conically-enlarged head A provided with a diametrically-extending slot in its upper or end surface. Instead of being of uniform width, as is the slot provided in the head of an ordinary screw for the insertion of a screw-driver, the slot, groove, or recess A of the screw shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, is

widened at its inner portion, preferably in dovetail fashion.

A screw of this improved construction is fitted into a plate or other part B provided with a socket in which the headA of screw may be countersunk, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5. This socket generally has a flaring wall corresponding to the shape of the screw head, although that portion of the socket wall which lies exteriorly of the screw 'head (when the screw has been inserted fully). may be cylindrical, and preferably is so formed. I

I I Specification of Letters Patent.

the.

Lwidened inwardly, and-thus interlocking with the screw, so that it will be impossible to remove the body C, .C by pulling on it outwardly, lengthwise of. the screw, without breaking or marring either said body{ or the screw or the plate in which it is fitted,1so that any attempts at such removal would be detected easily. The outer surface of the body 0. is. preferably flush withthat of the plate or other part B, thus rendering it still more difficult to attempt removalv ofthe body. C

1 and of the screw without leaving some traces of such attempt. When the body. C is of opaque material, as it will be generally, the slot A" will be invisible, and a person wishmg to'apply a screw-driver to said slot will be compelled to scratch or chisel away a relatively considerable portion of said body C before the directionof the slot can be deter mined. Thus my invention aflords suflicient I I Patented M r.4, 1 919.

, Application filed December 27,1916. 'Seria1No..139,096.

security against undetected tampering with the screw A, or the like.

Furthermore, since the body C will generally adhere strongly to the screw head and to the socket wall, such body will also look the screw against accidental andmalicioiis loosening; V

Finally, the body C, by concealing the screw A, also improves the appearance and finish 'of the entire structure, particularly whenthe exposed outer surface of such body isf flush with that of the'plate or other part 1 receiving the head: of the screw A.

The practically trapezoidal ends C of the widened portion or key C of the body C. will adhere strongly to the wall of the coni-. 1 V cal'socket of the plate B and willthus prevent '0rat least render very diflicult, the turning of the screw by means ofa screwdriver inserted intothe slot A". after the solder or otherv material of the body Chas V I been scraped or gouged out of said slot, or

recess, since even in that case some material of said body will remainin the ends of the slot A and will stick to :the wall of the socket.

I v Copies of this patent may be obtained. for

In the two forms of construction,illns;

trated by Figs. 4 and 5, the, screw head ,A' i made with the ordinary transverse slot or recess a of even width, and the key cor c of the body C is formed by a portion extending:

under an undercut portion a or cp,respectivelyofthehead' A? In Fig. 4, the key 0 fills an annular groove or recess out under.

y'entiong What I claim is: 1. A part provided witha socket, a screw provided with a head' located within said socket, said screw head being provided wit-h a slot whose walls diverge downwardly, and .a body-of readily molded-material in contact with the screw head and thewall of said ,suchdevic'es being contemplated by insocketand extending intoand filling said slot from wall to wall, to form a permanent provided "with a head located within said socket, said screw head belng provided with a downwardly extending slot having'diagonal walls, -and a. body of readily molded material in contact with the screw head and the wall of said socketand ,extendinginto and filling. said slot-to-rforma permanent lock-for saidmaterial and the screw;

3. Apart provided with a socket, a screw provided with a head located within said' socket said headhavinga transverse slot of dove-tail formation and located within said socket and a body of readily molded material in contact with said head and with the wall of said socket, and formed with a key locked in position in saidfsocketn e a 4. A part providedwitha socket, a screw 7 having a head, an undercut annular groove in said head and a body of readily molded material in contact with said head, with its,

1 annular groove and with thewall of said socket.

JACOB COSTUMA.

five cen filkaflhib amassing 11 e,; commissioner of 3 4 m,

Washington, 110, p Q 

